Lina's Secret
by Shira
Summary: There's something about Lina we didn't know. She holds a deep secret that not even her closest friends know about. It's time that secret gets told.... (Rating for mild violence- only writing a second chapter if I get enough reviews)


_**I had this really super spiffy idea.... Well, actually, my dad gave me the idea.... and he was inspired by the closing credits of the "Book of Spells" DVD.... The whole thingy with Lina on the magic circle and her stuff appearing in puffs of smoke.... My dad said that made it look like Lina was created by magic. Then I had this wacky thought-- "Why not??" So I decided to write a ficcie about it. If I get enough reviews, I'll write another part to this. I know what'll happen in the second part, but I won't even write it unless I get enough reviews. **_

Lina's Secret 

In the heart of Atlas City stood the Sorcerers' Guild tower, a glistening pillar of white marble stretching for the sky. The Guild was separated into different areas of study, the ones of note being Black Magic, White Magic, Shamanism, and Bio-Magery. 

Bio-Magery was the study of magic in living or animate objects, such as animals or humans. Mainly, this dealt with golems and chimeras. There was a Head of each area of study in the Guild. The Head of the Bio-Magery area of study was a sorcerer by the name of Diol. Diol had very radical ideas about what they should test or try or create next, and most of his ideas were so far-fetched that they were flat-out rejected by the other sorcerers and sorceresses of the area of study. 

One dark, stormy night, Diol and the other members of the Bio-Magery study area in the Guild were meeting in a council room on what project they should begin next. They had just perfected their new chimera creation, mixing a human with a snake and a lizard. Now they needed something else to work on. 

As usual, it was Diol who proposed the general idea, and he left it up to the others to expand upon that idea. "I wish to create the Ultimate Golem," he told the others. "Totally obedient and extraordinarily powerful." 

"How should we do it?" one sorcerer asked. "Should we do a rock golem? Iron golem?" 

"We should make it look innocent," another sorcerer suggested. "Make it look not intimidating, so it will be shocking when it unleashes its mighty powers." 

"Perhaps we can make it look very human," a sorceress added. 

Diol had a sudden blast of inspiration, and stood up at his end of the long table. Instantly, the other Guild members fell silent. "We _will_ make it look innocent," he agreed. "And it will look very human. In fact, I propose we make the first Flesh Golem. Made out of flesh and skin, with bones, blood, and organs, just as a real human, but totally obedient as a golem." 

That announcement sent people talking amongst one another right away. One or two very spiritual members protested that it would be too much like "playing L-sama," but the majority agreed that a Flesh Golem would be a wonderful challenge for them, and a superb way of making the Ultimate Golem. 

Right away, people ran off to figure out how they were to create this Flesh Golem, and what it was to look like. A sorceress by the name of Lara was appointed the task of designing the physical appearance of the golem. 

Lara sat down with a pencil and began to think. It had to be very undaunting. A girl, then. In her young teens, perhaps. As Lara thought, she began to sketch. Long hair…. Blond? No, red! With eyes to match. She should be short, and even flat-chested. Girls with large breasts drew too much attention. 

After a half hour, Lara had her completed sketch of the design of the golem. She even went far enough to plan out her clothes, which consisted of red pants, a pale yellow shirt, and a black cape. She also gave the picture an enchanted headband, and a short sword that gave off light when unsheathed. After she finished, Lara handed her sketch to a sorcerer she knew by the name of Narad. 

It was up to Narad to think of skills for the golem. 

Narad sat down, and began to think. What sort of abilities would the Ultimate Golem have? Swordsmanship, definitely. Magic, too. Shamanist? Or Black? How about both! Maybe even martial arts skills! And knowledge of magical lore! As Narad thought of all the skills the golem should have, he jotted them down on the paper beside the sketch. 

When Narad finished his job, he passed the paper on to another sorcerer, Harden. Harden's job was one of the most significant ones. He was to come up with a name for the golem. 

Harden took the picture and sat down in a big red armchair, staring at the picture, and thinking through all the female names he knew of. Rachel? No…. Amara? Didn't fit right…. Christina? Not quite…. Regina? That wasn't right either…. A simple name, like Sarah? No, nothing ordinary…. This golem was to be far from ordinary. 

After much thought, Harden decided on Lina as a first name. But then he had to think of a last name. This last name had to be memorable, unique, and suitable for a powerful Dark mage. Something that implied power. Lina Titan? No…. Lina Universe? No, not Universe! Inverse! Lina Inverse! 

With a shout of joy, Harden wrote down the perfect name in big, bold letters at the top of the page. With a foolish grin on his face, Harden handed the page to Diol. 

Diol looked over the paper, and then held it up with a prideful look on his face. "I present to you all--" he shouted above the din of the sorcerers. Everyone instantly looked up, and Diol held the picture up for all to see. "—the Ultimate Golem—LINA INVERSE!" 

**(~~~~~~~~~squigglies~~~~~~~~~)**

The sorcerers were kept busy for days after the final design of Lina was completed. The costume had to be made, and her special items had to be enchanted. Also, many of the more mathematical sorcerers were busy working out figures and equations. They needed to figure out how much Growth Culture to add to the mixture to make the process not take very long, but then run out of Growth Culture just after the process was finished, so that the golem itself would not age any more than a normal human. 

They also had to figure out how they would make the golem of flesh and blood. They couldn't very well take all of that from people—they'd never get enough to make a whole human. But if they could somehow replicate small samples, and then incorporate that into the entire process, then maybe that would work. 

After they reached that conclusion, they had to figure out how much of each sample they would need and how much they'd need to replicate to create their Flesh Golem. 

When all the figures were worked out, they had to calculate how long the entire process would take, and then how much magical energy they'd need to infuse into the golem to make it last a lifetime. 

To their horror, the sorcerers found out that there was no physical way to infuse enough magical power into the golem to make it last a lifetime, even if it didn't use any magic. If the golem used magic regularly, it would drain the magical energy from its body to cast those spells. Surely, the golem wouldn't last more than five years under normal use. And even then, that would require every sorcerer in the Bio-Magery area of study to devote power to the golem, and a magic circle big enough to fill a room. 

The sorcerers working on that problem brought it up to Diol, and even the Head himself could not think of a solution to that. 

"We will just have to re-instill the magical energy into the golem after it has been worn out," Diol said to the sorcerers. Since no one else had a better idea, that one was accepted with open arms. 

Now that they knew how big to make the magic circle, the sorcerers waiting for that part began to work at it. They took their enchanted tools, and began tediously carving the runes and circles perfectly into the stone floor of the large chamber they were using. They needed the magic circle fifteen feet in diameter with the symbols of all the Black Magic spells and Shamanist spells, and also the runes of the Lord of Nightmares, Ciepheed and her counterparts, Ruby Eye, and the five Dark Lords under Ruby Eye. This work was very dangerous, for if they carved a rune incorrectly, it could destroy them all. 

The work of creating the magic circle took the sorcerers a week, working day and night almost non-stop. Their hands blistered and they suffered from lack of sleep, but they kept going, until the giant magic circle was finally complete. 

By the time the magic circle was ready, so was the costume, and the samples for creating the body were gathered, and the Growth Culture was measured and added to their mixture. All was ready to begin creation of their Flesh Golem. 

But first the sorcerers needed their sleep. 

**(~~~~~~~~~squigglies~~~~~~~~~)**

In the morning, every sorcerer belonging to the Bio-Magery area gathered around the massive magic circle, with Diol at the head, as was his position. "We are here this morning," Diol began. "To start the process of creating the first ever Flesh Golem. This golem, dubbed Lina Inverse, will be the closest thing to a human that can possible be created without actually being a human. She will walk, talk, live, breathe, and eat, just like any human. The only exception is that she will be completely obedient, and follow our instructions, just as a golem would." 

Following that short speech came a round of cheers from the other Guild members. "And now," Diol said. "Let us begin the process!!" 

As one, the sorcerers all reached out and grasped the others' hands, and bowed their heads. Then they all began the chant they'd gone over, which spoke each of the rune words carved into the magic circle. As they spoke each rune word, that rune lit up on the magic circle in a bright violet light. Their voices grew in intensity, and the magic circle got brighter and brighter with the lights. 

Set by a timer, the Growth Culture was poured into the grooves of the magic circle, filling the spaces between the runes with a bright pink liquid. Finally, every rune lit up, and the sorcerers' voices stopped. 

Again as one, the sorcerers all looked up, only to see their process going exactly as they'd planned. Slowly, a lavender mist rose from the magic circle, and Diol escorted each of the Guild members out of the chamber. After closing the door, he said, "With the Growth Culture we've added, it will take twenty-eight hours for our golem to grow fourteen years, at which point the Growth Culture will run out, and the golem will be complete. I suggest each of you get some rest, and we will meet back here in twenty-three hours to watch the final phases of development." 

The other sorcerers, weary from pouring so much magical energy into the process, were only too happy to agree about getting sleep. One by one, the sorcerers filed out of the main hall, and went to their rooms for sleep. 

**(~~~~~~~~~squigglies~~~~~~~~~)**

When the sorcerers convened again, they were still tired, but anxious to see how their golem would turn out. 

With only one hour of the process left, the entire room was filled with the lavender fog. The sorcerers watched from outside the room through a large window. For about forty-five minutes, the fog obscured anything going on that might have been seen. Slowly, however, the mist began to fade away. 

Within the room, things began to clear up. The light from the glowing magic circle was more visible, and a dark form could be made out. As time passed, the fog dissipitated a little bit more. Finally, in the last five minutes, all the fog had gone except a small puff about five feet long in the exact center of the magic circle. As that faded as well, the body of a girl could be seen. First her legs and head, and then slowly more and more. The golem was exactly as Lara had designed her. When the fog completely disappeared, the sorcerers rushed for the chamber. 

They were stopped, though, by four sorceresses who stood in front of the door. "She isn't dressed," Lara said sternly. "We women will dress her. You hentai men can wait out here." With that final word, Lara and the other three sorceresses went into the chamber, leaving the sorcerers speechless at the door. 

Once inside, two of the girls stood protectively in front of the window, blocking it, while the other two dressed the slight golem. The girl, Lina, had the body of a fourteen-year-old girl, with fair skin, and hair like fire. They couldn't see her eyes, but they all knew they'd be as red as her hair. Also, just as Lara had specified, Lina was short and flat-chested. One of the other sorceresses commented on that, and Lara explained her thinking. "Big breasted women draw too much attention." 

After dressing the still-unconscious golem, the women carried her out of the room, and then laid her down on the floor in the great hall. Right away, everyone started commenting on Lina Inverse. 

"It's amazing!" 

"Feel her skin, it's so lifelike!" 

"It's breathing!" 

"Her chest is so flat!" 

"She looks like a child!" 

All the comments, whether good or bad, were given in awe and amazement. Suddenly, Lina groaned, and everyone around her hushed. Lina grimaced, and opened her eyes, which were flaming red. She looked around, and stood up in shock. She held her hands instinctively to cast a spell, and glared at everyone she could at one time. "Who are all of you? Where am I? _Who_ am I? And why the hell are you all staring at me?" 

Right away, Diol stepped forward. "You are Lina Inverse, a golem we created with our magic. We--" he gestured to the other Guild members "—are your masters. You'll obey us." 

Lina snorted, and said, "Like hell I will! I won't obey anyone! And what do you mean you created me? I wasn't created, you numskull!" 

The sorcerers all gasped. They'd taken into account every possible scenario they could think of, and anything that could possibly happen, and thought of solutions for those possibilities, so they were almost certain that nothing could go wrong. 

Of course, there was one thing the sorcerers hadn't thought of. 

They had made their golem almost completely human—she had blood, flesh, bones, organs, but most importantly a heart and a mind. In fact, they had made her so much like a human that she was exactly like one in every way except for the fact that she would rely on magical energy to keep her powered. _That_ they hadn't taken into account. They expected her to be obedient, like a golem, but she was so much like a human that she would also have feelings, thoughts, and a will of her own. They hadn't anticipated that. 

Diol, however, didn't lose his composure, despite his shock. "You will obey me! You are nothing more than a golem created by our magic!" 

Lina stared at Diol incredulously. "No, I'm not," she said. "I'm a human, dimwit! Look at this!" She shoved her arm under Diol's face, and said, "Golems don't have skin!" 

"You are the first ever Flesh Golem," Diol informed her. 

For a moment, Lina just stared openly at Diol. Then, to everyone's shock, she burst out laughing. The sorcerers all gave each other strange looks as Lina bent over nearly doubled with laughter. 

"What's so funny?" Diol demanded. 

"You really had me going," Lina managed to say between laughs. "Crazy old man! You really had me going for a second!" She then broke down in laughs again. 

Diol looked at Lina oddly, and quietly told two sorcerers to take Lina to a dungeon cell. They tried to drag her away, but she protested, still laughing. Finally, one of the sorcerers cast a Sleeping spell on Lina, and then the two of them took her off to the dungeon. 

"I didn't expect this," Diol muttered, shaking his head. 

"What _did_ happen?" people began to ask. 

"We made this golem so much like a human," Diol explained. "That she inherited a personality and free will as well. She won't serve as a golem, she's too human." 

"I guess we got so excited about making a golem so much like a human, that we made her _too much_ like a human," someone added. 

Diol shrugged, and said, "We could destroy her, and start over later. It seems the safe thing to do." 

After that, it was unanimously decided that the golem should be destroyed. If they let her go off into the world, there would be dramatic changes to the course of Fate. The spiritual members who had opposed this from the beginning got to go around saying, "Told you so," to every Guild member they saw. 

**(~~~~~~~~~squigglies~~~~~~~~~)**

Lina woke up in a dark, damp dungeon cell, with no windows or anything. She sat up, and looked around her. "They threw me in a dungeon," she said to herself. "That crazy old man…. He really had me going. Me, a golem?" She laughed a little, but her laugh quickly trailed off. "But…. Why don't I remember anything? I should remember something about before now….right? Before I came here? I didn't even know who I was…. Could that old man be right? No! No, there's no way I can be a golem….right? Golems don't think for themselves! They don't have feelings! They don't disobey their controller! I can't be a golem….can I?" 

Lina looked down at her hands, which had gloves covering them. She took off her gloves, and examined her hands. They looked just like human hands. They felt like human hands, too, she found after rubbing her hands together. If she was so much like a human, there was no way for her to not be human. She turned her hands over, and stared. On the palm of her left hand was what looked like a brand! It was a large A with a star at the top, the symbol for the Atlas City's Sorcerers' Guild. Did that mean—No! 

"I'm not a golem," Lina said, determined. She clenched her fists, and stood up. She wouldn't let those creepy Guild guys keep her in a dungeon! She'd break out, and leave that place. She didn't care that she didn't have any memories of her past. She probably just got amnesia or something. She knew she wasn't a creation of those creepy sorcerers, and knowing such, she wouldn't let them keep her locked up. She'd break out, and blow up anyone who got in her way. 

Lina faced the door, and pulled on it. It didn't open, as she expected. She backed up a few steps, and shouted, "Fireball!" The spell exploded, melting away part of the door. Lina began to walk through the hole she'd created, and was embarrassed to find that the door swung easily open. 

Shrugging, Lina started through the Guild. She knew she was on the Bio-Magery level—she knew all about the Guild. Which was another thing—if she were created, how would she know about everything she knew about? How would she know the legend of Shabranigdo if she'd never been told before? 

Quickly, Lina began running through the halls of the Guild. Every time a sorcerer got in front of her, she cast a spell to get rid of them. Mostly, she just blew them aside with a Diem Wing or Bomb Di Wind, but if they fought back, she'd blow them up with a Fireball or Flare Arrow. 

Finally, Lina made it back to the main hall where most of the sorcerers were still standing around. When they saw her run in there, they all reflexively prepared spells, but Lina was faster. "Bomb Di Wind!" she shouted, blowing half of the sorcerers across the room, through the glass window to the next room over, and into the wall. They all fell unconscious to the ground just outside the magic circle in that room. 

The remaining sorcerers stared at her, and then ran to block her way out of the Guild. One of the more daring sorcerers threw a Fireball at her. Lina dodged, but she wasn't quite fast enough. The fire caught her shoulder, scorching her a little. "Youch!" 

The other sorcerers, seeing Lina wasn't completely immortal, began shooting of their spells as well. Lina was hard-pressed to dodge all of them, and she finally got frustrated and put up a shield. She waited for a second after the spells slowed down a little, and then fired off a round of Fireballs into the midst of the sorcerers, taking out twn in one round. Only three were left, and they decided to run rather than get toasted. Lina didn't show any mercy, however. 

"Oh, no you don't!" she shouted as the sorcerers tried to run off. "Gaav Flare!" She aimed her spell right for the sorcerers, and they were ashes before she could say "Shabranigdo." 

"All right!" Lina shouted, clenching her fist. Then, thinking her way was clear, she ran straight down the hall towards the exit. She saw the door right in front of her. She was almost out! 

Lina had to skip to a stop, however, when the Head of the Bio-Magery, Diol, appeared in the hallway. "Let me through, Old Man Diol!" Lina shouted. 

"I won't stop you," Diol said. "But I do want you to understand that you were created by us. The brand on your hand proves it." 

Lina looked down at her hand, which she had recovered with her glove. 

"I just want to warn you that in a few years, you might as well be dead," Diol went on. "The magical energy that keeps you going will run out, and you will be the same as an empty shell. If you wish, you can come back in about three years, and I will re-instill you with magical energy, and--" 

"No way!" Lina shouted. "I told you, I'm not a golem! I wasn't created! I'm a human, just like you! Now get out of my way, or I'll blast you into the Overworld!" 

Resignedly, Diol bowed his head, and stepped aside. Lina nodded, and ran down the hallway and out the Guild doors. 


End file.
